Hollywood: The Greatest Showman

Chapter 42: Magazine Interview

A/N: Sorry for the late update...

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"Here, here!" Edith raised her right hand, scratching the side of her cheek. Her straightforward words carried an undeniable deterrent force. Her leather jacket was thrown aside, sleeves of her T-shirt rolled up, effortlessly commanding the room with her assertive stance. "You should relax your expression a bit. You wouldn't want me to come forward and adjust it myself, would you?"

"Pfft!" Rami couldn't help but burst into laughter. He then saw Renly sitting by the French window, speechlessly spreading his hands, shoulders shrugging, wearing an expression of helplessness. Rami covered his mouth, realizing he couldn't stop laughing. It was rare to see Renly so flustered.

Compared to facing the camera lens, Renly seemed rather uncomfortable with the photographic lens.

"Click!" Edith quickly pressed the shutter, keenly capturing the moment. She then lowered her head to check the result.

In the photo, Renly's actions were vividly depicted, as if freezing that moment into reality. His clear brows slightly furrowed, his mouth curved downward, emotions flickering in his narrow eyes — mockery, innocence, rebellion — captured by light and shadow, turning a fleeting moment into eternity.

Edith looked up and announced, "Alright, just this one." Then she saw Renly's dumbfounded expression. Though inwardly amused, she maintained her professionalism on the surface. "Didn't you hear me? I said, that's enough. Go for the interview first, then wait for the group photo. Next!"

Without giving Renly time to retort, Edith swiftly moved on.

Renly stood still for two seconds, then his shoulders slumped, accepting his fate, leaving the window and heading towards the interview area. Watching Renly's defeated figure, Edith felt like she couldn't hold back her smile anymore.

Edith started her photography learning with Renly as her first subject, so she knew him inside out. Renly wasn't suitable for static poses; when he was quiet, he needed to be completely still. If he became aware of the camera, his muscles would stiffen, making it difficult for the lens to capture his aura, sometimes even appearing comical. Renly needed to move — especially when he smiled, which was when he looked his best. The moment his smile blossomed always felt like sunlight piercing through clouds, uplifting the mood involuntarily, emitting a likable charm.

So, what Edith did earlier was intentional, breaking Renly's stiffness and releasing this sense of freedom. As a result, she captured the most vivid moment, interpreting his unique charm like the lingering fragrance of tea in the frozen moment of film.

Renly pursed his lips forcefully to prevent himself from laughing out loud. He tried to slow down his pace, not to flee in haste. Despite the slightly heavy steps, inwardly, he was already celebrating: he had finally escaped!

When Edith first started learning photography, she used him as a model, snapping incessantly regardless of what he was doing. Each session lasted for hours, making him almost neurotic. Eventually, he became extremely resistant to being photographed.

During the photoshoot for "The Pacific," he was nagged by the photographer for a long time, saying his expression looked like everyone owed him money. Renly had his own grievances about it. Some things, even with a rebirth, didn't necessarily become smooth sailing.

Today, he was mentally prepared, but he didn't expect Edith to finish the shoot in just five minutes. Renly sighed heavily, quickly leaving. However, he still had to pretend to be disappointed, making Edith think she had succeeded, otherwise, he would have to endure further torment.

The interview area was arranged in the bedroom, while the living room outside was left for Edith's free use. Today, they were interviewed by "Vanity Fair," one of Hollywood's most influential magazines. Besides the annual Oscar night, the magazine itself had a large readership, covering entertainment, fashion, sports, photography, and more, with outstanding quality in columns, essays, and reviews, highly praised by professionals.

HBO attached great importance to "The Pacific," investing a staggering $200 million, nearly double the budget of "Band of Brothers," making it the most expensive TV series in history. Coupled with the star power of Tom and Steven, the TV series had been highly anticipated since its inception, and now, as it was about to air, the publicity strategy spared no effort.

"Vanity Fair" was about to fire the first shot.

After Jon Seda finished the interview, Renly stepped forward and sat opposite the reporter.

The reporter before him was a woman about thirty-five years old. Her long legs clad in black stockings were undoubtedly the most eye-catching, her dignified black professional suit not hiding her figure advantage, exuding a confident dominance — thinking about it, to make a breakthrough in a news industry dominated by men, one had to either rely on looks or absolute strength.

"Daisy Lucas." The woman first introduced herself generously, but before Renly could speak, she continued, "Renly Hall, right?"

Renly felt a bit nervous. Accepting an interview felt completely different from performing in front of a camera. Since his rebirth, he had been striving for his dream of becoming an actor. So when he stood in front of the camera for the first time, he was more excited than nervous; but accepting an interview was a completely unfamiliar territory. After sitting down, even Renly himself hadn't anticipated that his heart would start beating rapidly, his tense emotions restless.

Daisy's initiative caught Renly off guard. He almost reflexively made a joke, "Your preparation work isn't wrong."

Without the usual newcomer's stage fright, Daisy pursed her lips slightly, but didn't express any additional sentiments, proceeding to ask, "As a newcomer, starring as the lead in 'The Pacific,' the most expensive historical TV series, what are your feelings?"

Seemingly a very normal question, Renly sensed a hint of danger — this was just his first media interview, and it was supposed to be a routine promotion for "The Pacific." Did "Vanity Fair" intend to set a trap from the beginning? His nervousness gradually eased. "First of all, just like 'Band of Brothers,' I don't think 'The Pacific' has an absolute lead. James, Jon, Rami, they all have important roles, and I'm just one of them."

Then, Renly smiled, "Of course, being one of them is indeed a miraculous experience for me. You know, this is a series produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, right?" Renly's excitement was evident. For the first time, he showed the fervor of a fan deep inside him. "Besides, I've watched 'Band of Brothers' at least ten times. So, it's crazy, all of this is just too crazy."

This time, Daisy found it intriguing. According to HBO's official information, Eugene was indeed the main character, even though the series followed a three-lead model, but Renly's name was indeed listed first.

You see, those big-name movie stars would use all means to fight for the order of appearance in the end credits. Renly, a pure newcomer, was placed first, and Daisy naturally thought it was justified.

Unexpectedly, she got Renly's wry yet clever response, mixed with the enthusiasm of a fervent fan. This kind of mature yet naive contradictory temperament was truly wonderful.

"So, how do you feel about the collaboration after working together?" Daisy asked.

Renly found the interview quite interesting, the back and forth like playing chess, and what's more interesting was that sometimes actors had to continue their performance even during interviews to achieve the desired promotional effect. This reminded Renly of the movie "The Truman Show." How much of life under the spotlight was real, and how much was fake?

"Disappointing." Renly's thoughts surged and then calmed in an instant. He replied with a smile, and he noticed a glimmer of genuine interest in Daisy's eyes. This process of exchange was truly fascinating. "Because obviously, Tom and Steven wouldn't be on the set every day. Most of the time, we were focused on shooting, or maybe the shooting process was too exhausting to care about anything else. Until the end of filming, I could count on one hand the number of times I talked to Tom and Steven. I guess that's real life."

His jesting remark made Daisy couldn't help but chuckle softly. "That's a fact. So, as your first project, what are your thoughts after wrapping up 'The Pacific'? Disappointment as well?"

"I would say that I am lost, and there are some regrets." Renly's answer seemed quite normal, which made Daisy a little disappointed "However, I can be sure that I wouldn't want to do it all over again. Because the entire filming process was too exhausting." With the progress of the interview, the tension completely disappeared, and Renly gradually became accustomed to the rhythm of conversation.

But for his first interview, Renly still seemed slightly excited, his speech slightly faster than usual. As the interview progressed, he recalled the shooting situation in his mind. This feeling was particularly special. "Before the formal shooting, we organized a boot camp, just like 'Band of Brothers.' At that time, we thought maybe we couldn't make it through. But later, we realized that surviving the boot camp was just the beginning. I think the crew wanted us to experience the shock of going to war in a real way."

"Haha!" Daisy couldn't help it, she burst into laughter directly.